uidroid volume

[BrettB]

Hey, Martin.

I think the answer is no, but is there any way for uidroid to adjust the playback volume of a recording?

Using the TiVo Stream 4K, I am pretty consistently finding the the volume of recording playback via uidroid is a decent amount lower than the volume of other streaming apps like Netflix, YouTube, Prime, etc. So when I switch back and forth between them, I always have to adjust the TV's volume level.

I've noticed it at home, but the volume difference isn't terrible. Here in NC, it seems to be quite a bit different--such that changing to the other app causes it to be really loud. At home, we just use the TV's built-in speakers, so it is only stereo. Here, I've got a separate amp and 5.1 surround speakers. And I'm wondering if that could be part of the problem/difference. I guess for a test, I could try just using the TV's built-in speakers here and see if the volume differences are smaller.

Let me know if you have any thoughts about the situation. Thanks!

-Brett

[mvallevand]

I am pretty sure in beta testing I was asked not to let the volume controls on the remote control Android volume allowing the volume to control the linked device volume. This might impact stored volume levels. Have you used the TiVo software to link the volume to your TV or or amp? You would need to relink them, I don't think multiple devices are supported.

Martin

[BrettB]

I am pretty sure in beta testing I was asked not to let the volume controls on the remote control Android volume allowing the volume to control the linked device volume. This might impact stored volume levels. Have you used the TiVo software to link the volume to your TV or or amp? You would need to relink them, I don't think multiple devices are supported.

Martin

Yes, the volume buttons on my TiVo remotes control the TV/amp's volume. I'm not sure what you mean by "I don't think multiple devices are supported." And that is what I want them to do.

I was under the impression that the TiVo should just be passing the raw, digital audio signal through to the TV or the amp to decode. But the consistent audio level differences between the other apps on the TiVo and uidroid made me wonder if somehow uidroid did have some control or effect on the volume level. And, if so, it would be ideal to be able to set a fixed audio adjustment level which would effectively make the volume coming from uidroid match the volume coming from the other apps.

[mvallevand]

Don't you have to remap the volume each time you move your TiVo? For other devices do you see the Android volume slider when you use the volume controls?

I know for mute I toggle between 0.0f and 1.0f which should be full does unmuting change the level?

Martin

[BrettB]

Don't you have to remap the volume each time you move your TiVo? For other devices do you see the Android volume slider when you use the volume controls?

I know for mute I toggle between 0.0f and 1.0f which should be full does unmuting change the level?

Martin

Oh--I don't move a TiVo. I have 4 different ones each on different TVs--some in MN & some in NC.

I don't ever see an Android volume slider with either uidroid or any of the other apps.

I rarely mute and unmute, so am not sure if that has any effect. But also, I'm thinking that the TiVo is sending the mute to the TV or amp not to uidroid. I can try to experiment with that tomorrow. And also, I'm thinking that I can try to use the Android remote app so see if that will allow me to make an adjustment to the "Android volume" setting and see if that affects the volume for either uidroid or other apps.

[mvallevand]

Turns out the volume on unmute just returns to what it was before, which I was thinking would been an improvement! Other than that there is no handling of the volume keys at all in uidroid, I leave it to the OS.

This is the adb command to increase the volume adb shell input keyevent 24

Another thing you might want to check is

You can change defaults on Android streams with

adb shell media volume --stream ## --get
adb shell media volume --stream ## --set ##

or after Android 10

adb shell cmd media_session volume --stream ## --get
adb shell cmd media_session volume --stream --set ###

For normal audio it is steam 3 and you don't need to use the --stream ## option

In logcat you should see

10-30 08:28:32.056 642 4148 I System.out: [v] will get volume
10-30 08:28:32.057 642 4148 I System.out: [v] volume is 15 in range [0..15]

Martin

[BrettB]

I was able to use an adblink shell and issue get and set commands for the volume. It started at 15 (full volume). But, setting it to 0 did NOT affect the volume of the playing media at all.

EDIT: Actually, when I just tried setting to 0, I don't get any error. But, then immediately doing the get shows it still at 15.

I also tried using the mute button on the remote. It works "as expected" in that it will mute and then return the volume to the level it was before muting. I did notice a few times that the first press seemed to be missed, but I think that is just because the IR repeater to the amp isn't 100% reliable. When I opened the cabinet and pointed the remote directly at the amp, it seemed to always work ok.

I'm attaching a .zip of the logcat file I capture while testing some. The recording I was playing when I started ended, so I restarted it. That's probably good because it shows the initial setup for beginning playback. Maybe you will see something in there that will give an "ah ha!" moment.

[VCR58]

My NVShield with uidroid has low volume to my Dennon AVR as well. But Kodi with pvr.nextpvr also has low volume from the NVShield. The streaming apps like Pecock and SlingTV seem to have a higher volume.

My AVR has an adjustment for input level (button on AVR remote) for each HDMI input, so I have them set to Max gain to compensate. That makes the streaming apps louder but I don't use them as much so it doesn't bother me.

Rex

[mvallevand]

Ok that basically shows audio pass through meaning the device should be output raw. 15 is maximum anyway so uidroid couldn't increase the volume if it wanted to.

10-30 10:46:38.664 3411 3480 D audio_hw_profile: [get_hdmi_sink_cap:192]aud_cap=sup_formats=AUDIO_FORMAT_PCM_16_BIT|AUDIO_FORMAT_E_AC3|AUDIO_FORMAT_AC3

If you transcode a recording to use AAC audio like other services us do you have the same volume. Your AVR, like almost all of them, doesn't accept AAC audio so the output from YouTube will be processed by your TiVo player to PCM which might be getting amplified.

Also out of curiosity does the second audio channel sound louder? I have always found 2:0 audio was louder using passthrough regardless of the source.

Martin